Campbell Assignment 1

Stand Your Ground: Should States allow it? In our violent world today, the ability to protect ourselves is an important factor in our lives. Police cannot be everywhere at once and that is the reason almost all state legislatures have incorporated some kind of self-defense statute for their state. The ability to use deadly force for self-defense has saved many innocent lives over the past couple of years, but it has also taken several. This is the reason why there has been such a great controversy about the normal untrained public, which is our society, being able to make calls about using deadly force. Self- defense laws have changed over the years, but none of them have gotten as much attention as the "Stand Your Ground Statute." This law is a very controversial issue because it takes away the, "Duty to Retreat" prior to the use of deadly force for self-defense. This has raised concerns for the public who are not in favor of using deadly force in the first place. While many opponents want to abolish the "Stand Your Ground Statute", I believe that it is an essential law that should be kept in our society in order to protect the innocent people who have no other option than to exterminate the threat he/she, or the family have faced. "Stand Your Ground" and other laws like it not only give the public more rights to protect themselves, but also provides a strengthening legal safety net for the people who had to the use of deadly force. I know that if someone threatens you or your family with the intent to harm, you have the right to use to deadly force. The way I see it is it's either the intruder or your family. Right now there are about 30 States that have passed the “Stand Your Ground” law, but each State has its own definition behind their law. Use of force may only be used as a last resort. I would like to know more about the rules that pertain to each State's law. How they protect the citizens and how it affects the communities as well. Each State has